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A businessman's guide to manners

Planning to go global? It’s important to know how to navigate the multicultural marketplace. Some mantras for corporate success abroad...

| TNN | Updated: Sep 7, 2014, 08:30 IST

Planning to go global? It’s important to know how to navigate the multicultural marketplace. Some mantras for corporate success abroad... A while back I was in India on the invitation of a business school. The agenda sent by the organizers left me confused. I was to start my presentation at 9am on one day and end at 5pm, yet my next session began 15 minutes later all the way on the other side of the city. "That can't be right," I thought to myself. After multiple emails back and forth where I tried to nail down minute by minute exactly where I would be when, I got the distinct feeling I was missing something.

EYE ON THE CLOCK

In American culture, which I call a Linear-Time culture, we approach tasks in a sequential fashion. We avoid inter ruptions, focus on deadlines and stick firmly to the schedule we've set in advance. In India's FlexibleTime culture, agendas are adjusted and interruptions accepted. Flexibility is valued over promptness.

The lesson for me was that I needed to relax about the clock and let the day unfold in a flexible manner.The lesson for an Indian manager working with an American, Australian or German is to recognize that showing up even 10 minutes late for a meeting signifies a lack of respect.

TALK THEIR TALK

A frequent comment I hear from western companies outsourcing to India is: "When I explained what needed to be done to my Indian team, there were no questions. Later, I real ized they hadn't understood my instructions. Why didn't they ask for a clarification?" When we say that some one is a good communicator, what do we actually mean? The responses differ wildly from society to society. In low-context cultures -US, Germany or the Netherlands -good communication is simple, explicit and clear.Messages are understood at face value. In high-context Asian cultures, communication is sophisticated, nuanced and layered; messages are often implied but not plainly stated. Indian business people, therefore, risk being perceived as vague, unclear or downright confusing to their western counterparts.

When working with Americans and Europeans, Indian managers should explain exactly what their objective is. At the end of a phone call or meeting, recap all the key points or send an e-mail repeating them straight afterwards. If you aren't 100% sure what you have been asked to do, don't read between the lines. Instead, ask for a clarification. And do not hesitate to give a clear "no, I'm sorry it is not possible" (with explanation as to why) if you can't do something even when speaking to a client or superior.

CRITICIZE WITH CARE

All cultures believe criticism should be given constructively , but the definition of "constructive" varies greatly . In Israel or the Netherlands a colleague may say "your work was unacceptable" while in Brazil or Saudi Arabia the comment is likely to be worded "this is good, but you might possibly think about doing this part a little differently".Although less direct than many Western cultures, Indians are one of the most direct with criticism across Asia.One Indian manager who had recently moved to Thailand lost several employees in his first month on the job by giving feedback in a way they perceived as blunt and disrespectful. When working with other Asian cultures Indians can benefit from being as gentle and diplomatic as possible.

EARN THEIR TRUST

In task-based cultures such as the US, Australia, Germany or Denmark, trust is cognitive: built through work. If you do good work and prove to be reliable and effective, I come to trust you.In a relationship-based society such as China, India and Brazil, trust results from spending time getting to know each other at a personal level. One American manager recounted a story about an Indian colleague who had requested a meeting while in New York. At the start the American said, "Hello, nice to see you. What can I do for you?" When her Indian colleague responded "I just wanted to take advantage of this trip to meet you and get to know you", she was taken aback. "Doesn't he realize I'm a busy person?" When working with task-based cultures first get down to business. There will be plenty of time to build the relationship later. In China and Brazil, however, investing time to build that personal connection is the most important first step to getting the business.

The writer is a professor at INSEAD and author of `The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Multi-cultural Business'

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